Well, I tried...

I tried to walk, really I did. But, something in me wouldn't let me. I took about 10 steps past the start and had to jog/run/trot, whatever you want to call it.

(Here I am at the start. There were so many people for the 5k that it took them more than 10 minutes to get everyone out of the shoot.)

I woke up this morning with pain in my knee. I was thinking that it was just sore from using the foam roller for the first time at the PT office and from all the stretches & exercises I have been doing. I was nervous that I wouldn't even be able to walk the 5k. Last night was a rough night, I just kept thinking negative thoughts and I wanted to quit. I wanted to quit everything, the training, the marathon, the 5k.  But, when I was getting ready this morning I told myself I would do as much as I can do....and that's what I did. I ran. I ran without pain for the first half and then I started to feel it coming on after a little while, but I found that if I landed a certain way or if I didn't bend my knee as much as I usually do than it didn't hurt. I did take a couple of walking steps here and there, but I listened to my body and did what it wanted to do. If it said to keep running, I kept running. If it said to slow down and walk, I walked.

(Almost at the finish...I wonder if I could say I was walking in this picture...I'm not sure the PT would believe me. lol)

I made it across the finish line in 38.04, not bad for having a bum knee, huh? The funny thing is, last year at this time my average 5k time was 47 minutes. Even with a bum knee I'm faster than I was a year ago. J even said this was the most excited/happy looking he's seen me at the finish. He said it looked like I was really enjoying myself. :)

Right now, about 6 hours after my race, I have NO pain at all. My muscles are sore, but that's to be expected. I feel like I'm 100%. I am being careful though. There is no way I'm going to jump back into running 8 or 10 or 15 miles any time soon. I'm still going to walk and cross train and strength train next week and I may throw in a minute or two of jogging every once in a while during a walk, but I'm being careful. I want to heal and I want to be 100% for my marathon. :)

Oooh, I also went and weighed in today and guess who's down 2 pounds!! It pays off when you track your food. I'm only 5.6 pounds from my goal weight. Go me!

This Week's Runs!

Thanks everyone for all the great advice about my aches and pains. It's so nice having all you out there to help me. :)

This weeks runs are going to be easy and light. I won't do the 16, that way I can heal and then feel better so I can run it later.

My Runs:
Monday: 4 miles
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 3 miles
Thursday: 9 miles
Friday: 4 miles
Saturday: Salt Lake City Marathon 5k
Sunday: OFF

My Goals:
My goals this week are to relax and take my runs one day at a time. If I can't go 4 miles I won't go 4 miles. I'm not going to push myself. I'm also going to stretch, massage, ice, heat, etc my leg. I'll also set up an appointment with a Sports Doc and get it checked out that way I know what's up and what to do to fix it. I'd like to be 100% by Saturday, but we'll see. I've also decided that since I'm not going to be able to run as much as I'd like I'm going to have to make sure to track my food and stuff so I don't gain this week at my WW weigh in. Which by the way....I lost 1.4lbs this week! GO ME!

I hope everyone had fun at their races this weekend! I can't wait to read them all. 

Sick+Snow=No 14 Mile Run

I'm still not feeling 100%. I'm probably about 70%. I woke up this morning and thought about running 7 miles and then having Jace pick me up at the half way if I couldn't go the whole way, but when I stood up out of bed....WHOA! There is NO WAY I can run 7 miles let alone 14. So, I slept in for a while, went and weighed in really quick at WW. Lost 4.8 lbs thanks to being sick and not eating for 3 days. I need to get food in my tummy I am completely empty and I don't have the energy to run. Going down stairs is hard enough. Maybe when I get food in me and lots of water I'll feel great. I'm hoping to get my 14 miles in on Monday.

About an hour after going to WW, it looked like this outside....

Yeah, I don't think that would mesh too well with a sick momma trying to run 14 miles.

The video doesn't do it justice...those were HUGE flakes!

PS. I have some new Sauconys that I can't wait to try out. I love Saucony shoes!

Run for Red 5k!

(Here I am at the start feeling all optimistic.)

My goal was to run it in under 30 minutes....Did I do it? Did I?

I ran it in.....

28.50!!!

YAY!! I was am so excited to have beat my old PR. The crazy thing....I was 10 minutes faster this year than last year. Isn't that nuts? There was this chick Kara who stuck with me for the first 2 miles and then had to slow down towards the end. Her goal was to do it in under 30, I think she finished in 34 or something. It was kinda nice having someone running next to me. She was cheering people on the whole time, it was pretty cool.

When I turned the corner towards the finish, I picked it up and finished strong. I felt like I was going to puke, hence the not so pretty picture. lol!

I am so glad to have met my goal! My next few goals are to run the 5ks 1 min faster each time. That would be cool. :)

Oh, I weighed in today at WW and gained 3.4 lbs. I'm not surprised. The TOM plus, lots of salty pistachios and a BIG Cafe Rio salad for dinner last night...yeah, I could have figured. It just means next week I'll lose 3+.

12 miles + Weight Loss + Over 200 Miles Run This Year= GIVEAWAY!

Today's 12 miler went really well! It probably wasn't the best time to try out new shoes, but that's what I did. My right butt cheek hurt towards the end and also the back of my thigh, not sure if it was the shoes or not, but we'll see next time. I got up at 5 and ran and ran and ran until the sun came up and then ran some more. :) I took a water bottle with me and put it at my 4 mile marker. I was planning on doing laps around the neighborhood so each time I hit 4 miles I'd get a drink. It was pretty nice having that set out like that. I ran the 12 miles without walking and only stopped for a water break for about a minute. I ran the 12 miles in 2.17.31! GO ME! It feels good! I'm a little sore, but nothing I can't manage.

So, I weighed in right after my 12 miler and lost 1.4 lbs. I'm only 6.6 from my goal! I really think my sprints this week helped me out. You should check out Runner Dudes blog, he has some good posts about running and weight loss.

I have officially run 213.76 miles so far this year!! How awesome is that?! I would have never thought last year that I could run that much in just 2 months. I am well on my way to run 1010 in 2010! :)

Ok, so now onto the really fun stuff!

THE GIVEAWAY!

Since there's so many things to be thankful for today I thought I'd thank all of you out there who read my blog and follow me along on this journey.

The awesome people over at Road ID have donated a Road ID for my first giveaway!

Here's a little something about Road ID: "Our mission is two fold: One, to educate outdoor enthusiasts (runners, cyclists, triathletes, skiers, snow boarders, kayakers, walkers, and anyone that doesn’t spend all of their time on the couch) about the importance of wearing ID. Two, to provide these athletes with innovative identification products that they will want to include as part of their gear."

They're an awesome company that's privately owned and are committed to serve and support their community.

I have a Wrist ID Elite in the bone color!

So, here's how you enter:

(Make sure you leave a separate comment for each entry!)

Go to RoadID.com and tell me which one you would choose if you won.

Link this giveaway on your blog, Facebook page, or tweet about it.

Join Road ID's fan page on Facebook.

Follow my blog or let me know if you already do.

Tell me how a Road ID would benefit you in your running/jogging/biking endeavors.

If you tweet follow Road ID on Twitter!


(The winner will be announced next Saturday after my race.)

So, there ya go! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and be careful out there on all of your runs and races!!!

4 miles and a weigh in

I got up and ran my 4 miles. I noticed today that I don't hit my stride and I'm not completely warmed up until about 2.5 miles into my short runs. Maybe I need to warm up more before my runs, I dunno. I felt pretty good once I was all warmed up, my thighs are a little sore, but it's all good. The weather was kinda interestinng. It was snowing, but it was warm at the same time. Weird!

I went and weighed in today since my race is early tomorrow morning and I lost another .2. Urgh! It'd be nice if it was 2 whole pounds rather than .2, but it's all good. I'm thinking I gotta eat more and get in more protein. The only thing is when I think of protein I think of chicken. Do you guys have any good recipes that would help me get my protein in?

Oooh! I found a jacket to run in, it should be coming today or tomorrow. Yay! I love getting packages. :)

Oh yeah, my splits...
Mile 1: 11.20
Mile 2: 11.13
Mile 3: 10.53
Mile 4: 10.28
Total: 43.55 min

There's a lot of great giveaways going on right now, check them out on the sidebar------>

10 miles!!

I ran 10 miles!!!!

I have entered into the double digit miles. It's so crazy to think I'm running that far. I would have NEVER thought last year that I could  run 10 miles without stopping. It was hard enough running a 5k in under 45 minutes, but today I ran 10 miles in 1.57.50!! I even ran it without my ipod.

I got up at 4 when the alarm went off, got dressed, and got myself out the door. It was such a peaceful morning I thought it would be a good day to run without music, so that's what I did. I ate a GU before and another 1/2 way though. It seemed to help. I felt really good. There were no sore muscles or joints. I felt like I had lots of energy. At one point I even thought about going 3 more miles so I could say I ran a 1/2, but I decided not to push myself.

I feel soo good! What a great run!

I weighed in and lost .4. I wish it was more, but whatever. I'm doing good training and my clothes are fitting great so that's all that matters. I'm getting to the end of my weight loss and the last few pounds are the hardest to lose. It'll come off and I'll be way past my goal before the marathon for sure.

Oh, my splits:
1. 13.37
2. 12.45
3. 12.09
4. 11.39
5. 11.22
6. 10.58
7. 11.20
8. 11.18
9. 11.17
10. 11.21

Not too bad, not negitive splits, but that's ok. I was going for a comfortable pace and that's what I did. :)

9 miles + Negitive Splits!!!

This morning I got up at 4:20 got dressed and went for my run! I felt really great. I thought a couple times towards the end of my run about how I could run it 2 more times. I did my run today at a consistent pace and did it without stopping. At this point in time I'd have to stop and walk a couple times, but I'm thinking by June I won't need to walk at all. I think I'll have to figure out ways to not get bored while I run for such a long distance. I got done in 1.42.50! I love when I run negative splits.

Here they are:
Mile 1: 12.36
Mile 2: 11.53
Mile 3: 11.51
Mile 4: 11.36
Mile 5: 11.15
Mile 6: 11.06
Mile 7: 11.01
Mile 8: 10.49
Mile 9: 10.40

I think it's so cool when I run negative splits on such a long run. You'd think it would be the other way around where I'd go slower towards the end cause of how far I'm going, but nope. :) I feel really good about my run!!

So, I weighed in at WW and I maintained again for the 3rd week in a row. I'm still 168.6. I haven't been tracking for a while, so this week my goal is to track all my food and eat lots of protein. That means lots of buffalo chicken wraps and rotisserie chicken salads. YUM!

I also want to try hard to get out and run early in the morning. I feel so much better when I run early.

TIME FOR LUNCH! :)

Ice, you can't hold me back!

Thanks to these little puppies, I was able to run this morning with no problems. :) I'm so glad my hubby got them for me for Christmas. I don't know why I didn't use them yesterday in the ice, I'm sure they would have worked perfectly. Now, I know for next time.

So, I got up at 4:20 and went for my run. I was pretty surprised at how much traction I had with the YakTraks. I stuck to the sidewalks for most of the time, but there were some parts where it was less slippery to be on the road.

My splits were:
1mile: 13.23
2mile: 12.51
3mile: 12.37
4mile: 12.47
5mile: 12.07
6mile: 12.08
7mile: 11.50

I love when I get faster towards the end. I was able to do it in under 1 hour 30 min. Nice!

Oh, I weighed in at WW and I maintained. I love when I don't gain. :) So, I'm still at 168.6. 8.6 pounds go and I will have reached my goal. I'm thinking it'll drop in the next couple months.

By the way, did you know today is National Pie Day? Yeah, I'm glad I weighed in today. :)